A 1-0 victory over Mallorca at Son Moix on Saturday has moved Real Madrid ever closer to the La Liga title. It was a tight encounter, but one man made the telling difference: Aurelien Tchouameni.
The Frenchman scored the only goal of the game with a lovely strike from 30 yards out. Carlo Ancelotti was delighted with that moment, but also his overall performance, as he told the media post-match (via Diario AS).
“He played very well, and in his preferred position. He stands out a lot defensively, because he has a lot of presence. The presence of a tall pivot was important in that sense, because they hang a lot of balls to Muriqi. Rudiger and Nacho have also helped in that regard.”
Ancelotti opted not to start Eder Militao against Mallorca, a decision that was made with Vedat Muriqi in mind.
“It was a very demanding match. There was Muriqi, and I preferred not to start with Militao. I wanted to give him more minutes in the second half, but the game was open. We put him on at the end to enhance our aerial game.”
Real Madrid now move to the Wednesday night against Manchester City, as they aim to continue their involvement in the Champions League. Militao may get the chance to start that one, especially with Tchouameni suspended.
